Things that go Bump in the night.

We were really excited that our second daughter Ruth was born. It was Oct 1984 and the Medical College Hospital, Nagpur released Bev and the baby in just two days.

We brought both of them home and had a small celebration for this lovely God-ordained addition to our family. We lived in a tiny one-bedroom place in a fairly new area in Nagpur, and power outages in those days were extremely common. Sometimes power would be gone for hours.

Bev was on one bed with the children, whilst I had opened up a folding bed that just fitted in the room next to our dining table. October nights are cool and often temperatures drop to 17 Degrees Celsius.

It was a great peaceful night and having gone to bed early, we all were in a deep and restful sleep. The power unexpectedly went and the ceiling fan and night-light stopped working. I was awake suddenly but continued to lie in bed, when Ruth began to cry. Soon our older daughter Becky awoke and began to cry too. Bev was trying to pacify the children, one hungry child and the other just awakened by an unfamiliar noise.

It was pitch dark.

Bev asked me to get up and go to the kitchen to get a matchbox and some candles lying on the shelf there.

I stood up…and bumped into another person standing right next to my bed!

You can imagine the stark terror I felt!

The guy’s body odour has still not left my olfactory memory. Here was a man standing in the gap between my bed and the dining table, and he had most of our warm clothes in his arms!

In the pitch-blackness of the night I had no other alternative but to shout and lash out at him blindly. My left fist found contact, dropping him somewhat…and in the meantime Bev raised an alarm. He dropped the warm clothes and ran…right through to the living room door and then locked us in by the front door.

Bev’s screams brought the neighbours out. They opened the door for us, and some of them had hockey sticks in their hands. Nagpur was well known for thieves entering homes at night.

In the morning I noticed I had left a window open next to the main door. The thief put his hands through and managed to open the door and enter our home.

I thank God none of us were harmed in any way.

But I learned some precious lessons…!

• Make sure the home is secure especially when you live in a wild neighbourhood.
• Keep a box of matches, candles, lamps or flashlights within arms length when power outages are common.
• Be alert at all times, especially when the family is all at home.

So why am I saying this to you?

Three powerful reasons to keep safe from the ‘thief’ who comes to steal, kill and destroy your relationships with God…

• Make sure your life does not have any open ‘windows’. Keep your attitudes right at all times and your heart stayed on God.
• The Word of God is our light! You really need to tackle the Devil with the ‘Word’ you have as a revelation within your own heart.
• Become as a watchman to the church and your own family. Keep your ‘eyes’ clean and keen, and you will be able to see into the spirit realm and know what is happening.

If you follow these simple steps, then things won’t go bump in the night for you!

Be blessed!